HPV Vaccine Could Also Prevent Rare, Incurable Respiratory Disease

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could also prevent the rare and incurable respiratory disease juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP), according to the results of a recent study.

The researchers sought to monitor the incidence of JORRP cases following the implementation of an extensive HPV vaccination program in Australia which vaccinates against HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18. The surveillance program built upon work by the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, which monitors rare pediatric diseases.
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Overall, the average annual incidence rate for JORRP was 0.07 per 100,000, with the largest number of cases reported in the first year after the vaccination program begun, with decreasing annual frequency afterward. The rates declined from 0.16 per 100,000 in 2012 to 0.02 per 100,000 in 2016.

Among 15 incident cases that were reported, none of the mothers had been vaccinated prepregnancy, 20% had maternal history of genital warts, and 60% were first born.

“To our knowledge, this is the first report internationally documenting decline in JORRP incidence in children following a quadrivalent HPV vaccination program,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Novakovic D, Cheng ATL, Zurynski Y, et al. A prospective study of the incidence of juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis after implementation of a national HPV vaccination program [published online November 9, 2017]. J Infec Dis. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix498.